FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C, June 27th, 2024 – On Thursday, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education advanced a funding bill that would zero out funding for Title III English Language Acquisition programs for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25). The subcommittee bill proposes deep cuts in its FY25 spending for education as a whole, axing $11 billion from the Department of Education in total – a 13% drop from last year.
This $11 billion cut includes a nearly $5 billion reduction for Title I, and 17 federal education programs, including Title II and Title III, would be eliminated altogether. House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) decried the cuts as “attacking education on all levels” and called out the elimination of “funding for English Language Acquisition and teacher training opportunities used to increase the number and improve the quality and effectiveness of teachers and school leaders.”
These cuts are particularly disheartening following the success of the Seal of Biliteracy Summit held by the U.S. Department of Education Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) earlier this week where language education advocates and leaders at the Department of Education – including Secretary Cardona – spoke to the value and necessity of providing educational opportunities that celebrate multilingualism as a superpower and uplift the diverse experiences of all learners across the country.
Reflecting on this week, JNCL-NCLIS Executive Director, Amanda Seewald said, “It is clear that we must continue to unite our voices and share our stories as we work to grow language education in the United States and protect multilingualism. Both events, no matter how divergent in tone and effect, make evident the importance of JNCL-NCLIS’s ongoing work and the collective advocacy of our members and partners. The Department of Education’s celebration that all 50 states have adopted Seal of Biliteracy programs is an important but not final milestone, and the House’s funding proposal is not the end of the funding conversation.”
The House Appropriations Committee is set to mark-up this bill on July 10th, and the full House will consider it in late-July. The Senate has not yet released its education funding proposal.
JNCL-NCLIS continues to make progress and move forward key language education legislation such as the the Biliteracy Education Seal and Teaching Act (BEST) Act (H.R. 7007/S. 3595), which would would serve as a catalyst to spread equity in access to Seal of Biliteracy programs for ELs, Heritage Language Learners, and low-income students by helping defray assessment costs. The next few weeks will be a crucial time for language advocates to take action and write to their members of Congress to show support for the BEST Act and speak to the value of programs like Title II, Title III to our students and our nation.
Language advocates can take action to protect language education programs with one-click through the JNCL-NCLIS Legislative Action Center. Click here: https://www.votervoice.net/JNCL/Campaigns/116672/Respond
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About JNCL-NCLIS: Established in 1972, the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (NCLIS) unites a national network of leading organizations and businesses comprised of over 300,000 language professionals to advocate for equitable language learning opportunities. Our mission is to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to learn English and at least one other language.
Contact: info@languagepolicy.org